Summary:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

1. What is all Scripture?
2. What is all Scripture good for?
3. What is the ultimate goal of all Scripture?

2 Tim 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

While we are familiar with these verses, when the speaker read this verse recently, it brought back good memories. When he joined Bible camps/Theolo, this was one of the first verses they memorised - 2 Tim 3:16-17.

He would like to revisit it.

This sermon will cover 3 points:

1. What is all Scripture?
2. What is all Scripture good for?
3. What is the ultimate goal of all Scripture?

1. What is all Scripture?

The word Scripture just means ‘writings’. There are also many writings and books we read in the world.

The first part of 2 Tim 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God.” The English Bible uses the word ‘inspiration’. The word inspiration comes from the Latin word which means ‘to breathe’. The Bible translates this to be ‘all Scripture is God breathed’.

In other words, it’s as if God spoke them directly even though they were written down by human beings.

This brings to mind what happened in the creation of man in Gen 2. When God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam, he became a living being. Originally he was just made from the dust of the ground. But when the breath of God entered him, he became alive. So what God breathes out actually gives life! All Scripture gives life because God has breathed out every word that we read here.

The Bible is really the only book we cannot miss out in our lives. But does this mean we only need to read the Bible and don’t need to study? Or if we read the Bible and refuse to study for our exam will we pass it? Of course not, you’re still going to fail!

The speaker is not trying to disparage all other human knowledge. In fact, if you don’t have a sufficient grasp of knowledge, you won’t be able to read the Bible as well!

The speaker remembers finishing reading the Bible at Primary 4. 1 chapter a day would take 3 years 3 months to finish the Bible. For those of us who have been following the Bible Reading campaign, we read 3 chapters every week. That’ll take 7 years and 7 months before we finish reading the Bible once. The speaker started reading the children’s Bible at Primary 1 (his mother bought it for him). As he grew up, his mother bought an NIV Bible. The speaker said, “What did I understand? Obviously not very much. Because I had limited vocabulary. A lot of time I was just reading the phonetics. Our mother made us read one chapter everyday. I just read whether I understood it or not.”

You need a particular grasp of language; you need to go to school to learn in order to understand the Bible!

But when the speaker says this is the only book we cannot not have in life, he means this book is totally different from any other book in the world! If we look at any other books that contain human knowledge, we see human knowledge is always increasing. Why? Because human knowledge is limited. When we discover something new, the prior information becomes obsolete.

The speaker read an article which said scientists discovered a new saliva gland. They were so surprised to discover something new! Because we have been breaking up the human body for centuries. They were surprised they could still discover something new. Actually new discoveries don’t testify of the power of human knowledge, it tells us we’re very limited and don’t know a lot of things! That’s why when we read Ecclesiastes, we see Solomon is very very vexed. “There’s no end to making books!” When you try to grasp real truth, you’ll never be able to grasp it using the human mind.

But Scripture is never outdated. It therefore never needs to be updated. And therefore this is real life. It is always applicable to us, all the time, and everywhere.

What exactly does all Scripture refer to?
Some people say Paul was only referring to the Old Testament.

2 Tim 3:15
and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

They often argue that since the New Testament was not written when Timothy was young and since this verse says “from childhood” (Timothy was perhaps born around the time Jesus died and was around 30+ year old at the point of writing), all Scripture cannot refers to the New Testament but only the Old Testament.

The question is: is this true?

This is a very faulty argument.

To give an example:
Psa 119:89
Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

Clearly Psa 119 is not the last book written in the Old Testament. Does this mean this verse is not applicable to the books that were written later? Of course not. The psalmist is writing down a general principle. This means as long as it’s the word of God, it’s established in the heavens!

2 Tim 3:15 is hence also a general principle. Of course at that time, ‘all Scripture’ is not written yet. But he’s defining what is Scripture. It’s defined as what is inspired by God. Therefore what is inspired by God must be Scripture. This includes the entire Old Testament. This includes the New Testament books that have been written. This includes 2 Tim that was being written! It also includes all the New Testament that had not been written. Paul viewed his own writings to be from God.

1 Cor 14:37
If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

Even though Paul doesn’t use the phrase ‘Scripture’ here, this is what Scripture means. Scripture is inspired by God. He’s telling the Corinthian believers: If you are spiritual, you’d recognise what I wrote to you is from God. They are the commandments of the Lord.

Actually Scripture really doesn’t depend on whether you acknowledge it or not. There are many Bible scholars today who don’t acknowledge some books in the New Testament to be part of the Bible. On Wikipedia, they’d list down which ones are authentic, which were definitely not written by the purported New Testament writer.

But we actually don’t need to give too much weight on what the scholars think. Because what’s Scripture doesn’t depend on that.

Paul says “if YOU are spiritual, YOU will recognise these writing is from God (i.e. Scripture).”

All Scripture means ‘everything without exception’
If we look at Paul’s letters, he sometimes gives his own personal judgement.

1 Cor 7:12, 25
12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.
25 Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy.

How do we view these passages? It’s clear Paul himself acknowledges these are his personal judgements. Does it mean it’s hence not Scripture, taking into account what Paul said?

How do we view these passages? It’s true Paul says this is his personal judgement. But we have to recognise that his personal judgement is divinely inspired by God.

1 Cor 7:40
But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirit of God.

He’s not saying he doesn’t know whether he has the Spirit of God or not. For example, when we leave the house and forget to turn off the gas. Sometimes we say, “Ah I don’t know if I turned the gas off. I think I turned it off.” Paul wasn’t saying this.

Rather, he’s saying he judges that he has the Spirit of God. So even though he didn’t receive the direct command of the Lord, he was inspired by the Spirit of God.

We in the True Jesus Church believe this too.

So when we read these passages, we also believe these personal judgements are the inspiration of God. What he wrote down was exactly what God wanted him to write down.

So whether the Old Testament or New Testament; whether a direct command or personal judgement, we have to see every word in the Bible as breathed out from God. So whether the Bible is difficult to read or not, we have to read all Scripture. Whether we like certain passages or not, we still have to accept them. Because all Scripture is inspired by God.

2. What is all Scripture good for?

2 Tim 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

Some people treat all Scripture as a literature book. Some say KJV is the peak of literary writing! In the US, they debate whether to teach the KJV academically (they can’t teach it devotionally).

But we don’t read the Bible like a literature book; like Shakespeare. Some people read the Bible just to satisfy their curiosity. Some read it just like a storybook.

When the speaker was young, when the sermon was boring, he would turn to David and his mighty men. “Wah very interesting.”

But this is not the reason we read the Bible. We don’t read the Bible to entertain ourselves.

What is it profitable for? Paul tells us there’s a few things we need to take note of when reading the Bible. Doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness.

Doctrine
A lot of Christians find the word ‘doctrine’ very divisive. There’s a slogan: doctrines divide, love unites. So what is doctrine? It’s just a set of beliefs a group of people hold on to. That is why the Chinese Bible just translates it as ‘teachings’. Doctrines just refer to all the teachings in the Bible. Very ironically, people who say “doctrines divide, love unites” don’t realise that that in itself is a doctrine/teaching. Because people who hold on to it believe in not talking so much about teachings.

For us, Scripture is the only source of teachings. Scripture just guides our world view. Scripture must be the only basis on how to lead our lives. Today we live in a world that’s really against our Christians beliefs.

2 Tim 3:1-2
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy

Human beings before the perilous times are not as bad. 100 years ago, there were still a lot of Christian teachings that non-Christians can agree to. This is definitely not the case today. Paul tells us this is because man becomes more and more self-centred. We are really narcissists. Everything is about ‘myself’.

Recently the speaker was teaching his daughter the word ‘narcissist’. Because he always asks her if she loves God, papa, mama, grandma, shushu (uncle).
She would answer, “Mimi love Mimi!”
He replied, “That’s a narcissist!”
The next day she said, “Mimi love Mimi! Narcissist!” -giggles-
She doesn’t know what ’narcissist’ means but she parroted him!

But this is narcissism. People only care about themselves! The trend of the world is going in this direction. That’s why Paul says it’s perilous times!

Gender neutral term example. 100 years ago this was not talked about. Or let’s not even talk about 100 years ago, just 20-30 years ago, this wasn’t an issue in society. But this is really really on the rise today. Some parents raise their children as gender neutral. They dress the child in both boys and girls clothing. They’ll tell other people to refer to their child as a ‘they’. “Let them grow up into what they want to be.”

Sometimes when the child becomes 4-5 years old and a boy says he wants to be a girl, the parent will decide, “So be it! You shall live like a girl from now on!” If a girl says she’s a boy, she will be a boy from then on. It hasn’t come to our shores yet but it’s on the rise. It’s only a matter of time before such influence comes to our shores. They always say, “Let the child decide.” But what does the child know? Shouldn’t the parent be the one guiding the child?

When the speaker was teaching his daughter the words ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ and asked her if she was a boy or girl, she didn’t know what a boy or girl was. She always picks up the first word, so she answered, “Boy.” Then the speaker will tell her, “You’re a girl la.” To which she would reply, “I’m a girl la!” She doesn’t know, so the parents need to guide.

Even when the child is 4-5 years old, would you leave the child to do whatever they want?

If we dig deeper into this trend, what is happening? It is really a rejection of God. It’s a denial of the fact that God made us man or woman. It’s a rejection of the role God has given to each and everyone of us. If you’re a man/woman, you play the role of a man/woman well. But people today don’t want to do this and want to decide for themselves. People also say: who am I to judge?

Jesus also says He won’t judge but His words will judge in the last days. We’re not trying to judge other people but we are trying to make moral judgements in life. And Scripture must be the only deciding factor. Not how we FEEL about an issue. Not what the world thinks. A lot of people are concerned about this and so compromise. Scripture must be the ONLY moral compass.

Reproof and correction
It’s useful not just to convince you you’ve done something wrong, it’s able to turn you to the right way.

Instruction in righteousness
It’s not just negative where when you go astray, Scripture convicts you and turns you back. It’s also positive. It can instruct you in doing what’s right! The Chinese version says ‘training in righteousness’. Like a sportsman. To get better in his sport, what would he do? He’d look for the best in his sport to train him.

Once the speaker had a supervisor who loved to play table tennis. When he flew to China for work or play, he’d specially find coaches to teach him how to play ping pong.

Scripture is like our tutor who teaches us how to become righteous. It’s for all of us for all ages.

When a child is young, Scripture is the basis to teach. When the child grows up and goes to his teenage years (teenagers are a bit rebellious), Scripture is still the basis to guide him to what is right!

For example, when a child doesn’t want to study and gives all kinds of reasons, some parents tell their children that if they don’t study hard, they’d end up doing hard manual labour next time. Or some parents say they want their children to study hard because they don’t want them to work as hard as them next time. These are good practical advice.

But the minds of teenagers work differently. When the speaker was young he would answer back, “What if God’s lot for me is to be a beggar or to work in a hard labour job? Like Lazarus in the Bible!” At this time, using worldly values to motivate won’t work. We don’t need to say working hard will help you become rich and let you enjoy life. Sounds like the devil trying to tempt Jesus by showing Him all the riches of the world.

Go back to Scripture.

The speaker remembers his father had a good way to answer him.

Everyone in life at different stages plays different roles. You could be a master, slave, child, husband, wife. Whatever role you’ve been placed in, you play the role well. Play the role well for the sake of Christ. If we are a student, play the role of a student well for the sake of Christ!

Consider Daniel. There is no example of a lazy man of faith in the Bible. Any man of faith in the Bible is hardworking. That is a fact! If you’re hardworking and because of circumstances you become a beggar, then of course we have to accept what God puts in our lives. Like what Job said: the Lord gives and takes away.

But if you’re lazy and become a beggar in your life, we have simply put the name of the Lord to shame. Because we did not play the role God has given us well.

Scripture must be the basis of guiding our children. This is also the reason we hold Bible camps and theological seminars. Especially for teenagers. Because if we want to instruct them in righteousness in the Scripture, this is really the best period of time to be trained.

When he’s a teenager, he has the linguistic ability to read and understand the Bible. He has sufficient maturity to reason about truths in the Bible. And he’s also malleable to the word of God. Sometimes when we lose these golden years, we’ll never get it back again. If the child is instructed in all righteousness, we need not worry about him. Because he will definitely be good for society! But if the child is only instructed in academic knowledge, and not instructed in all righteousness, he will be good for society, but will he be good for the Kingdom of God? If we personally don’t esteem these kind of training camps, let’s take a step back and ask: Why? Is it because we do not esteem the power of Scripture itself?

Scripture is profitable for instruction in all righteousness. Of course not just for the child; for all of us as well, so we can reach the ultimate goal. But what is the ultimate goal?

3. What is the ultimate goal of all Scripture?

2 Tim 3:17
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This is the ultimate goal when we read the Scripture.

Sometimes we lose steam when reading the Bible because it doesn’t seem as novel as when we first read it. But let’s not lose sight of the objective. We don’t read Scripture for entertainment but for spiritual nourishment.

May God continue to guide us as we read all Scripture. Whether we are a child. A teenager. An adult just starting work or a family. Mid life. Retirement. Old age. All Scripture is profitable for everyone of us.

May God help us.